During the gala evening at Zita, First Aid Kit – sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg – performed together with little brother Isak Benjamin. Speeches were held, films were shown, and more.
We who work notice that there is an enormous engagement in keeping this cinema alive, and what the cinema stands for and works with is extremely important for Stockholm's cultural life and Stockholm's film scene, says Widman Falewicz.
The Rent has Skyrocketed
The economic crisis for the cinema is not due to a lack of audience, according to Åsa Widman Falewicz, who describes Zita as "well-visited".
It's tough due to inflation and the rent has skyrocketed. But we're not facing a cliff and we have a good opportunity to turn this around, we have a plan forward, she says.
Zita is located in central Stockholm and the management is now working hard to be able to stay there.
Our mission is to offer narrow films to a broad audience at good ticket prices. Without Zita, there will be no diverse film landscape in Stockholm, it's so important with different types of cinemas.
Loyal Audience
The country's cinemas for quality films are otherwise the type of cinemas that do best, according to Jens Lanestrand, operations manager at Biografcentralen, which gathers the country's independent cinemas.
They have a strong comeback after the pandemic. They also have a loyal audience and work closely with them, with festivals, lectures, and more. I think cinemas need to have that to reach through the noise.
The situation is worse for commercial cinemas in medium-sized cities, like Filmstaden and Svenska Bio's cinemas, which are dependent on big films that draw audiences.
There is currently a lack of big films that help fill the auditoriums night after night, says Jens Lanestrand.
